PREVIEW: BELLE VUE v SHEFFIELD (ROWE MOTOR OIL PO SF)

BELLE Vue and Sheffield kick off their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off semi-final at the National Speedway Stadium tonight (Monday).

The Roses rivals are battling it out for the right to face Leicester in next week’s Grand Final following the Lions’ dramatic win over Ipswich.

The Tigers, who bring in Chris Harris to guest for the injured Tai Woffinden, have won all three aggregate contests against the Aces this season in league and KO Cup.

But Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon insists his side, who topped the 50-point mark in all but four of their home matches this season, are fully capable of taking out the defending champions.

Lemon said: “Just like Sheffield, our boys know what it takes to win league titles, and this is the moment we have been working towards all season long.

“I have absolute belief that we can go all the way, but it certainly won’t be easy; it never is, particularly against the reigning champions.

“But we have what it takes. I know this team have plenty in the tank to apply themselves and, in some ways, I feel we enter the play offs as something of an underdog to Sheffield.

“But with a full team, and I say with everything crossed that the boys stay fit and safe, we will enter this final campaign with a strong underlying confidence and self-purpose.”

Tigers manager Simon Stead said: “For some of the lads, they remember how they felt when we won the league title last October and the feeling they had on that occasion, they want to experience it all again.

“A play-off semi-final is a huge occasion anyway but the fact it’s against Belle Vue, a good old War of the Roses rivalry, adds that little bit of extra spice.

“Our three trips to Belle Vue have all been in the daytime so far this year, and we expect it to be a little bit different with this one being on a night when the weather is much colder.

“But we’ll do the track walk, we’ll have a good chat as a team and we’ll keep the lads together and keep them discussing things all night long.”

BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Antti Vuolas, Jake Mulford.
SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Kyle Howarth, Chris Holder, Josh Pickering, Chris Harris, Jason Edwards, Dan Gilkes.
SCB Referee: Craig Ackroyd